


Soul Language

by finitendings



Series: In the Hour of Separation [4]
Category: Sanditon (TV 2019), Sanditon - Jane Austen
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, 12 Days of Sanditon, Angst and Feels, Canon Compliant, F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:02:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21966136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finitendings/pseuds/finitendings
Summary: Sidney Parker reflects on the moment when he fell in love with Charlotte Heywood.  Chapter 2 is a companion piece with Charlotte's POV
Relationships: Charlotte Heywood & Sidney Parker, Charlotte Heywood/Sidney Parker, Eliza Campion/Sidney Parker
Series: In the Hour of Separation [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1578115
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: dance

**Soul Language**

Sidney Parker first fell in love with Charlotte Heywood at a dance. He was not looking for love at the time, quite the very opposite, in fact the more he saw the world, the more dissatisfied he was with it. But he was a gentlemen and an even kinder brother, so he offered his hand to Miss Heywood for a turn on the dance floor. Perhaps, it was the unexpected proximity of her body or the shock of her straightforwardness, but Sidney could not deny that Charlotte Heywood was unlike any other women of his acquaintance.

As he found himself in the constant company of Miss Heywood and on the receiving end of her opinions, he could not rid himself of tenderness, the longing and utter frustration that were lit from within.

Heraclitus once said that character is destiny and Sidney's fate was decided when he chose the happiness of others over himself. There on a different dance floor when he proclaimed to Charlotte that he was engaged to Eliza Campion, he had tarnished the sanctity of the dance floor and ruined the memory of their first dance. It will always be marked by the remembrance of his transgression of taking a beautiful heart and shattering his own.


	2. The Way Certain Dark Things are to be Loved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Companion Piece of Soul Language but in Charlotte's POV

**The Way Certain Dark Things are to be Loved**

The greatest gift that Sidney Parker has ever given her was his vulnerability. Charlotte once believed him to be cold, proud and reserved with an acerbic tongue that was quick to strike. And, she had been the receiving end of more than one tongue lashing to know the volatility of his anger.

But Sidney's true character was revealed to her subtly and organically through the intimacy of a dance, the excitement of cricket, and the urgency of saving a life. What she realized was that Sidney was unflinchingly human with flaws and sharp edges and a poetic flair but he loved his niece and nephew wholeheartedly. "I am a great deal less than perfect. You’ve made me all too aware of that," he once admitted to her.

"I believe I am my best self… My truest self… When I’m with you." With that declaration, that moment shall be remembered as the happiest and bitterest of her life.

But the harsh reality and cruel injustice often conflicted with one's true self, Charlotte realized that in order to solidify Sidney's resolve so that they may become strangers once again, she had to gift him something in return. 

On the last days of summer, Charlotte left Sanditon for Willingden, creating both a physical and metaphorical distance between them because one of them had to be kind enough to leave the other alone.

_“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,_  
_in secret, between the shadow and the soul.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12 days of Sanditon Prompt: gift
> 
> Title inspired by Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets


End file.
